Friday was a good day. The morning didn't get off to the best start, everything that could go wrong seemed determined to wrong.
I woke up late and had no interest of ever leaving the safe confines of my warm and comfy bed. after going through every possible excuse in my head and debating whether or not I should call the manager claiming to have come down with a rather sudden case of rocky mountain spotted fever I determined that I wasn't really in the position to start ditching work just yet. I somehow managed to coax myself from under the covers and sat up to face the morning.
Due to my laziness and reluctance to get out of bed, I was running a bit behind schedule. Breakfast was rushed and I barely made it out the door on time. The bus picked a superb day to show up on time and appeared to belong to the most cautious driver in the city. We ambled through the streets of bet shemesh at a snails pace and I wondered if we would ever make it to the mall.
The bus finally reached it's last stop and I skidded into the store at exactly eleven o'clock. The manager took in my slightly disheveled self and commented on how quiet the store had been all morning. She told me about how she had considered calling to tell me to stay home and wondered if I might "be interested in a relaxing day off". My appalled expression of utter dismay must have tipped her off and she said "but you're welcome to stay if you'd like.." with a tight smile. I quickly recovered and flashed her an award winning Polly smile "I think I will stay. Today's gonna be a great day!". She did her best to nod reassuringly and sent me into the back room to drop off my bag and phone before starting my shift.
I wandered into the desolate store and wondered why I had bothered getting out of bed when the day seemed to be so vehemently against me. Sales seemed to be a little hit and miss (emphasis on the miss) but I managed to convince a few people to part with meager amounts of their money.
My luck seemed to turn when a nice english speaking couple came into the store with their two sons trailing behind them. The elder was too big for gap kids but after a bit a persuading the younger agreed to take a look around the store. In a remarkable feat I managed to cajole the kid into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that actually looked quite nice on him. He bounded over to his dad with a big grin on his face and his father sighed as he pulled his credit card out of his wallet. Things seemed to be going well so I thought I'd push my luck and see if I couldn't get him to buy a membership card. Gods countenance continued to shine down upon me and he was only mildly reluctant to shell out the cash.
Feeling good about my sudden change in luck I smiled wide at the next customer that came into the store. I didn't know it at the time but it would later be revealed that the sweet older woman was my guardian angel.
She wanted a present for her granddaughter and I led her to the baby section. She noticed an outfit on the wall and stated "that one looks nice." It was a three piece outfit which is a nice sized sale and would cost at least 400 shek but my adrenaline was pumping and I was determined to have the best damn shift so in a fit of possible insanity I asked "would you care to see some of the adorable outfits in the toddlers section?". She didn't seem too enthusiastic but allowed me to lead her into the other section. I pulled out a cute dress and waited for a reaction. "Yes." I was a little surprised but didn't argue and quickly found the right size. "Don't forget the jacket..!" she kindly reminded me, I nearly passed out from excitement.
We continued through the section and she happily accepted every outfit that I suggested. When I was holding three full outfits and a bathing suit she beckoned me towards the desk and I followed her wondering if the whole thing was a wonderful dream or some form of cruel joke. Would she weed through the things when we got to the cash register and pick her favorite or did she honestly plan on buying the whole lot?
We got to the register and it became apparent that she was going to buy it. All of it. I saw her eyeing a little tote bag and had the audacity to pick it up and try to convince her to buy it. To my continuing surprise, she made no objections and let out a little laugh "It's just money, right?" I tittered nervously and did my best to look like I knew what she was talking about.
The manager came to check on things and was slightly shocked at scene unfolding before her eyes. The woman waited patiently for the cashier to ring her up and passed the time by lavishing praise on me in front of the manager. I tried to smile modestly and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek as she was leaving.
Everyone gathered around to see her off and as soon as she left another woman walked up to me and the manager and said "you're the one that helped me last week! I came back to buy the stuff that you recommended, thank you so much!". I asked her how her son was doing (despite the fact that I couldn't really recall if I had met him or not) and she promised to come back when the new collection came in.
The manager congratulated me on my sales and the rest of the shift passed by in a whirlwind of even more sales.
I guess its a good thing that I didn't come down with any sudden exotic diseases after all...
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